So I had an accident back in August that required surgery (type 5 AC separation), and now in cleared to bike again, I'm trying to get back into the swing but finding it's quite difficult, I assume because I had some severe depression from the whole thing and spent a good month being a hardcore couch potato.

When I first started commuting (and riding seriously at all), I just kinda of did it, pushed it until it was easy. This time, I'm wondering if anyone has advice for how to work back up more comfortably. Right now I'm riding to employee parking (university campus) and biking around to class and work, since it's my first week being cleared to ride (and because the very first day I could, I commuted the whole way and was a little run down). I expect the best thing really will be just to bite the bullet and suffer the rough week or so of grueling riding, but any advice on the topic would be very appreciated.

I'm starting again too and going easy on myself. Did about 10 miles total this weekend for a shake down cruise, and was saddle sore. Tomorrow I need to pick up the weiner dog from the vet after work, so no ride yet. Weds might be my first commute back.

I missed a year of riding in 2010/2011. The depression (from the injury and other factors) and the pain were overwhelming. After a few months I was able to walk and then jog on the treadmill, and did so with an aim to get back on the bike.

Over the previous 18 years, after returning to bike commuting after time off, usually no more than 2 months, I would allow myself a week of riding listening to music or the radio with headphones, which helped take my mind off the physical discomfort, but left me feeling unsafe, due to not being able to hear traffic (although I have used mirrors for decades).

During my year off I discovered podcasts, and got the idea from some one on bikeforums to listen to spoken word podcasts with one earbud only. And that is what I do almost every commute now. I feel safe, I can hear traffic around me, and on days where it seems to be more of a struggle due to fatigue, headwinds or other factors, being able to listen to other people's voices in my head really helps me get through the discomfort.

On especially nice days or rides, I sometimes turn off the noise and just enjoy the ride.

You know, now that you mention it I was most uncomfortable on the return trip, and only after my podcast finished and it turned out I didn't have any others downloaded. So I guess I may have been doing the right thing for me without realizing it.

I want to see you start a thread about what's the best rack/pannier setup for carrying a wiener dog. Front vs rear. Rack vs bag. Wrap around the top tube and secure with chain? Zipties? What if the wiener has a head-cone?

Don't overthink it. Dog will figure it out.

I've carried this same dog in a milk crate on a rear rack, but he's a nervous passenger and it's too far out of my way in the dark.

For the dog: trailer. For the o.p.:time.

Have you done P/T to maintain/restore mobility from the surgery? If your mobility is there, your cardio fitness will come back pretty quickly.

I have been where you are and I don't think I really short-circuited myself with just a few months of couch-potato-dom, it really took more than a year.

If you are bike commuting for enjoyment, then do make sure you figure out what's lacking, don't force yourself so hard you start to hate it.

Comfort is subjective. A lot of the HTFU advice you'll get around here doesn't work for me, for instance. My commute is not long. Nevertheless, due to my heart bug, I'm a slow cyclist, which means I really do take a lot longer to bike and trips out of my way are difficult. And so I don't always. Between short slow rides and irregular schedule, I can never put in enough miles or work hard enough to "toughen up" very much, and I usually prefer to be on a softer saddle with a somewhat more upright posture.

(I'm sorry I derailed your thread with my dog.)

No, that was my fault. Sorry.

I also want to mention that based on certain hills on my routes, it took about 3 months too get back to 90% of my former stamina, and that was with the treadmill leading up to my return to biking.

PVC pipe, of course. See also: Larsen, Gary, "Weiner Dog Distribution Center".

There are a lot of commuters who pause through the winter, and hopefully some will chime in here. I'd be in the same boat you're in, having never stopped for long enough for it to matter, but I think it must be a lot easier the second time around. I'd say just keep ramping it up, but taking care to be gradual about it.

When I get back to regular commuting I usually give myself a little more time than normal, ride at a comfortable pace and take a water break. Personally, the biggest thing is regularity and habit. Once I ride two days in a row I am into the groove and it gets easier. Also taking a rest day after a few days of regular bike commuting is great, because I seem to come back a lot stronger the next morning.

You could drive to a spot, get the bike off the rack and ride. Pick the spot that gives you the route and distance you want for the ride.

I've actually been doing that. Part of my problem is my commute most days involves a class/lab before work, but work is the only place with a shower, and I tend to work up a sweat riding in. So I've also been resisting because Kentucky's climate change experience has us without real fall weather so far (at least consistently).

I'm hoping the next couple weeks, with improved shoulder comfort/motion and lowered temps will let me get back into things a little better. I'm shooting for a ride into work Sunday morning to try things out.

I have a very short commute. 2 miles on the way there and 3 miles on the way home. I ride a Mountain bike so it may be different for me. I enjoy the curbs that I jump. Racing the lights. When I'm trying to go fast, I move my hands to the inside of the bars, so my thumbs can touch and bring my elbows in tight to reduce wind resistance. But what I find is my commute is made up of sprints and recovery periods. I must not spend to much energy on the way to work because I'm not sweaty. With the low gearing on the Mountain bike, I don't kill myself going up hills, But I do push myself going down them. For me it's all about enjoyment. Hope you get healed up and back to your normal routine.